European Union to Help Guyana Fight Flooding Problem

The European Union is funding a study to help the South American country of Guyana control flooding.

The EU said in a statement Saturday that it will help Guyana review its sea defense system, since most of the country’s population and infrastructure are on a narrow coastal belt that is already below sea level and floods often.

Guyana has issued several recent public advisories warning of water coming over a five-foot (1.5-meter) cement seawall in the capital of Georgetown. Several buildings including hotels have been flooded, as well as one of the country’s main highways that runs east-west.

Guyana’s low-lying coastal plains are currently protected by a complex system of canals and drains with floodgates opened at low tide to drain the city during heavy rains.